Clickable dictation at various speeds is available at the bottom of this page. The transcript of the dictation appears here as well.
While people may have written letters like this month's take in the past, that is no longer the case. I'll admit it's redundant and most of what the authori says is irrelevant to the receiver but "any dictation practice is good practice." This take is approximately five minutes in length at 100 and repetition practice never hurts, right?
For those who think I sound funny, just remember that it's allergy season. Sorry!
Remember, the dictation pieces must be a minimum of three minutes to be a valid test. Anything under three minutes is therefore not acceptable for testing purposes. Keep in mind that before Diamond Jubilee Gregg, all shorthand tests were five minutes. If you go back far enough, tests were ten minutes or longer.
200 Takes for Building Shorthand Speed, Zoubek, 1946, Letter 106
Dear Mr. Lee: Recently I received a copy of “People and Their Actions.” On September 16, I sent you my check for the book.
When the book arrived, I did not have an opportunity to examine it thoroughly; but from the examination I did make, I was convinced that I wanted the book. Since that time, I have been able to spend only five or ten minutes each day in reading it; but the more I read, the more I want to read.
This morning, I wrote to my son on the Pacific Coast, telling him about the book. I told him that I had seen many books of this type published in recent years whose purpose was to enable a man to improve his business technique, but that “People and Their Actions” was the finest I had ever seen. I told him that I was sending him a copy by first-class mail and urged him to read it carefully and study its recommendations.
The book is easy to read. My only wish is that it had been published twenty years ago. It would have contributed a great deal to my happiness as well as to my business success.
In the short time that I have had the book, I have already received several ideas that have been most useful to me. I am confident that before I complete the book I shall derive more ideas that will mean much to me in dollars and cents.
Enclosed is my check for $7.60 to cover the cost of the three more copies of “People and Their Actions.” Please send the books to my home address—46 Main Street, Jersey City, New Jersey. I should like to have them in separate mailing cartons, as I am going to send them to different places. One of them will go to my youngest son at college. He still has two years to go before entering business, but I know that “People and Their Actions” will do him a world of good at this time.
You will gather from what I have written that I am very enthusiastic about your book. Some of the points it brings out I have already endeavored to convey to my sons, but the book says them so much better.
When my sons return for the Christmas holidays, I shall discuss the book with them. For the past few years, my sons and I have made it a custom to spend some time discussing books that all of us have received as Christmas presents. We have discussed many fine books in the past few years but I feel that this year’s discussion of “People and Their Actions” will be the most interesting. My third son is still too young to join the group, but he has a place reserved for him when he grows up!
My only criticism is that the language of some of the letters included is stilted. However, there are not many of those letters.
I hope that “People and Their Actions” realizes the success that it deserves and that you will continue to publish books of the same high quality. Very sincerely yours,
For more information on shorthand speed building, click here.
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Dictation Practice:
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